...and Elf Lyon's Raven takes flight in the week's best live comedy

The best of the week's live comedy, picked from the thousands of events Chortle currently has listed. Use our search panel to check our full listings by date and region.

Tuesday September 27

MANCHESTER: XS Malarkey celebrates an incredible 25th anniversary with a secret – but likely to be special - line-up at the Bread Shed.  Promoter and resident compere Toby Hadoke, pictured, who founded the club when he was 23 and had been a comedian for just over a year, said: ‘We charge as little as possible and we don’t let in stag dos, hen dos or office parties. It’s all about the comedy and creating a great atmosphere for all sorts of different comedians who can just do their stuff instead of having to waste their energy on crowd control. People love playing it, which is why big acts still make the journey to try out their new shows with us … There is a positive vibe means that some acts who are a little bit off-kilter flourish - they’re able to be a bit more experimental under the more benevolent gaze of the Malarkey crowd’.

WINCHESTER: Isy Suttie kicks off the city’s comedy festival with her latest show Jackpot at The Arc. The rest of the short programme comprises Kiri Pritchard-McLean on Thursday, a gala at Theatre Royal on Friday – when Nick Helm also has a tour show, Clinton Baptists and the My Mate Brought A Toaster podcast on Saturday and Mark Watson and Paul McCaffrey on Sunday. Website

Wednesday September 28

BIRMINGHAM: The Birmingham Improv Festival kicks off at the Midlands Arts Centre today, showcasing 18 troupes across its five days, including US-based Baby Wants Candy; The Comedy Store Players; black troupe Do The Right Scene; Asian outfit Comediasians; QI: Queer Impro; and Canada’s Fandco.

BRIGHTON: Marcel Lucont, the witheringly supercillious French flâneur created by Alexis Dubis is deigning to grace various quarters of the UK with his magnifique presence as he performs a ‘best of’ tour. He’s at the Komedi tonight and other dates are here.

Thursday September 29

LONDON: It’s the final of the Funny Women Awards at the Bloomsbury Theatre tonight with Anshita Koul, Fathiya Saleh, Jessie Nixon, Julia Stenton, Kate Martin, Leah Davis, Lorna Rose Treen, Marjolein Robertson, Sharlin Jahan and Tatty Macleod vying to follow in the footsteps of last year’s winner, Lara Ricote.

LONDON: A climate-change benefit at the Conway Hall features Kerry Godliman, Sunil Patel, Tom Mayhew, Tom Ward, Jenny Bede, Ken Cheng. They will be joined by earth-pop duo Berne (who knew that was a musical genre?) and climate journalist and broadcaster, Lucy Siegle, who hosts.

LONDON: Comic poet extraordinaire Tim Key brings his latest, pandemic-inspired magus opus, Mulberry, to the Soho Theatre for the next couple of weeks.

EDINBURGH: Sean McLoughlin kicks off a tour of his latest tour, So Be It, at the Stand. It’s a funny and frustrated howl at the injustices of the world from a comic who always seems beaten, but never defeated.  ‘Don’t let the bastards get you down’ Sean McLoughlin tour dates and review

Friday September 30

ABERYSTWYTH The town’s comedy festival rolls round again, with a packed weekend of shows featuring the likes of James Acaster. David O’Doherty, Mark Thomas. Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Athena Kugbelnu and many, many more. Website.

LONDON: A very strong line-up at Banana Cabaret at The Bedford pub in Balham this weekend boasts Andrew Maxwell, Luisa Omielan, Tom Lucy and MC Windsor

Saturday October 1

BRISTOL: In her dark, weird and funny show, Raven, powerhouse performer Elf Lyons uses comedy and horror tropes to processes some childhood issues and trauma. She kicks off a ten-night UK tour at the Tobacco Factory before hitting London’s Soho Theatre for a residency which, appropriately enough, spans Halloween. Elf Lyons:Raven tour dates, tickets and review

LONDON: Milton Jones headlines another Live At The Chapel gig at the Union Chapel in Islington alongside TV’s Lou Sanders, the artful Rhys James, and high-octane compere Thanyia Moore. Tickets

Published: 25 Sep 2022